Former governor of Kaduna, Nasir El-Rufai, under whose watch his critic Abubakar ‘Dadiyatta’ Idris, mysteriously vanished in 2019, on Tuesday confirmed the state runs a kidnapping team.

Mr El-rufai, in a cryptic message on X, warned one of his followers against criticising his political protégé turned enemy, Uba Sani, to avoid suffering the same fate as others who were kidnapped and tortured by state-sponsored thugs for criticising the state governor.

“Be careful, Imran @IU_Wakilii,” Mr El-rufai said, quoting the tweet berating his successor and warning that “the Kaduna kidnapping team (I will reveal this next week, in sha Allah) will either try implementing the Danbilki Commander (abduct, whip and then offer money) or the Bashir Saidu (abduct and imprison) treatment on you.”

The former governor warned critics of the Kaduna governor to “Please keep away from Kaduna and stay safe wherever you are.”

Mr El-rufai’s reference to how thugs supporting Mr Sani abducted and assaulted Abdul-Majeed Al Mustapha, commonly known as Dan-Bilki Komanda, for allegedly insulting the governor reveals state leaders’ involvement is increasing enforced disappearance.

The United Nations in 2023 said Nigerian authorities are not doing enough to curb enforced disappearance.

Mr El-rufai’s revelation of a state-sponsored kidnapping gang comes almost six years after his critic Dadiyatta mysteriously vanished and is yet to be found either dead or alive.

Amid trending #WhereisDadiyatta on X in December 2019, Bashir El-rufai, one of Mr El-rufai’s sons, dismissed Nigerians pushing the campaign as clowns, suggesting the former governor’s critic was suffering the consequences of his action.

“The same clowns who encouraged him when he was creating false stories and capitalising on lies that could endanger lives solely for political ends are the same individuals trending hashtags asking
#WhereisDadiyata. Dangerous lies in the public space have consequences,” Mr Bashir said.

Mr El-rufai’s Tuesday revelation has generated debate on social media as many now ask him, where is Dadiyatta?

An X user, @Famoyegun_S, said, “Was that what happened to Dadiyata? Short man devil.”

Another X user, @kingofmultigoal said, “Wahala. Was this done under your tenure, too, mallam? Nigeria is in big shit. The guys you vote in to serve now act like drug Lords. Kidnap your citizens. No wonder people are missing every day without traces.”